Attachment of a hood to a garment

ABSTRACT

An attachment system to attach a hood to a garment wherein the hood has a first portion to be attached adjacent an upper portion of a wearer&#39;s torso on a right side and a second portion to be attached adjacent the upper portion of the wearer&#39;s torso on a left side. The attachment system includes a first right side connector attached to the first portion of the hood and a second right side connector attached to the garment adjacent in use the first right side connector. The attachment system also includes a first left side connector attached to the second portion of the hood and a second left side connector attached to the garment adjacent in use the first left side connector. The first right and left connectors are attachable to the second right and left connectors by magnetism.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a system for attachment of a hood to agarment. The invention relates particularly, but not exclusively, to asystem for the attachment of an academic hood to a graduation gown.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

Many educational institutions and other groups utilise gowns with hoodsat formal ceremonies. It is common, for example, for graduates atuniversities to wear such gowns at graduation ceremonies.

As the attendees at such ceremonies will often have hoods of differentcolours to designate their standing in the institution, it is usual toprovide a single uniform gown to which a hood of the appropriate colouror insignia can be attached. One common form of attachment for a hoodand gown is a simple safety pin. Such an arrangement has disadvantagesin the ease of attachment. Safety pins have a sharp end point which caneasily catch on the silk or other fine fabric of which parts of thehoods are usually made. In addition, safety pins can leave rust marks orstain the fabrics to which they are attached especially if they are leftin position for any length of time.

Another common form of attaching two parts of clothing together is theuse of a hook and loop fastener such as Velcro. However, the silk orfabric of which part of a graduation hood is made can be damaged bycontact with the hook material of a Velcro fastener, pulling threads ofthe silk in a way which is not easy to repair.

The present invention relates to a system for attaching a hood to agarment aimed at overcoming, at least in part, the abovementionedproblems.

References to prior art in this specification are provided forillustrative purposes only and are not to be taken as an admission thatsuch prior art is part of the common general knowledge in Australia orelsewhere.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided anattachment system for attaching a hood to a garment wherein the hood hasa first portion to be attached adjacent an upper portion of a wearer'storso on a right side and a second portion to be attached adjacent theupper portion of the wearer's torso on a left side, the attachmentsystem comprising:

a first right side connector attached to the first portion of the hood;a second right side connector attached to the garment adjacent in usethe first right side connector;a first left side connector attached to the second portion of the hood;anda second left side connector attached to the garment adjacent in use thefirst left side connector;wherein the first right and left connectors are attachable to the secondright and left connectors respectively by magnetism.

In one embodiment, the first and second portions comprise elongateportions of material extending from a main body of the hood downwardlyfrom adjacent the right and left shoulders of the wearer in use.Preferably, the first right and left connectors and second right andleft connectors are provided adjacent the upper portion of the wearer'storso below the respective shoulder. Alternatively, the first right andleft connectors and second right and left connectors are providedadjacent the upper portion of the wearer's torso on each respectiveshoulder region.

Preferably, the first right and left connectors are provided in a pocketstitched into the hood. Further the second right and left connectors arepreferably provided in a pocket stitched into the garment.

In one embodiment, the second right and left connectors comprise a striphaving one or more magnets mounted thereon and the first right and leftconnectors comprise a portion of magnetic material such that theportions of magnetic material are securable to the magnets.

Typically the garment is a graduation gown.

Throughout the specification, unless the context requires otherwise, theword “comprise” or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising”, willbe understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or group ofintegers but not the exclusion of any other integer or group ofintegers. Likewise the word “preferably” or variations such as“preferred”, will be understood to imply that a stated integer or groupof integers is desirable but not essential to the working of theinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The nature of the invention will be better understood from the followingdetailed description of several specific embodiments of an attachmentsystem, given by way of example only, with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a garment;

FIG. 2 is a front view of a hood of a first embodiment for attachment tothe garment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view of the hood of FIG. 2 attached to the garment of FIG.1;

FIG. 4 is a close up view of a connector of the hood attaching to aconnector on the garment;

FIG. 5 is a close up view of a connector of the hood attached to aconnector on the garment;

FIG. 6 is a front view of a garment;

FIG. 7 is a front view of a hood of a second embodiment for attachmentto the garment of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a view of the hood of FIG. 7 attached to the garment of FIG.6;

FIG. 9 is a front view of a hood of a third embodiment for attachment toa garment; and

FIG. 10 is a view of the hood of FIG. 9 shown attached to a garment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A first preferred embodiment of the attachment system 10 in accordancewith the invention, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 5, is provided forattaching a hood 12 to a garment 14. In the embodiment shown in theseFigures, the garment 14 and hood 12 comprises a typical ceremonial gownand hood of the type that may be used at a graduation ceremony.

The hood 12 includes a main body 16 which is shown as it would be wornoff the head of the wearer, extending between the shoulders and behindthe head. The hood 12 also includes a first portion 18 extending in usefrom the right side of the main body 16 of the hood and a second portion20 extending in use from the left side of the main body 16 of the hood12.

The first and second portions 18 and 20 each comprise an elongateportion of material. The first portion 18 extends generally downwardlyfrom adjacent the right shoulder in front of the wearer and the secondportion 20 extends generally downwardly from adjacent the left shoulderin front of the wearer, as shown in FIG. 3.

The first portion 18 of the hood 12 includes a first right connector 22which is arranged in use to be connected to a second right connector 24on the right hand side of the garment 14. The first and second rightconnectors 22 and 24 are both arranged adjacent an upper portion of thewearer's torso below the right shoulder.

The second portion 20 of the hood 12 includes a first left connector 26which is arranged in use to be connected to a second left connector 28on the left hand side of the garment 14. The first and second leftconnectors 26 and 28 are both arranged adjacent an portion part of thewearer's torso below the left shoulder.

The first and second right connectors 22 and 24 are connectable togetherby magnetism. Also, the first and second left connectors 26 and 28 areconnectable together by magnetism. The second right and left connectors24 and 28 may comprise a strip 30 having one or more magnets 32connected to the strip and the first right and left connectors 22 and 26may comprise a portion of a magnetic material 34 attracted to themagnets 32. Alternatively, magnets 32 may be provided only in the firstright and left connectors 22 and 26 or in both the first and secondconnectors 22, 24, 26 and 28.

Each of the first and second connectors 22, 24, 26 and 28 are preferablyprovided in a pocket 34 stitched into the respective portion of the hood12 or garment 14.

As will be appreciated, the style of a hood may vary depending on theparticular institution or academic faculty. The hood 12 is shown in onecommon style but other styles of hood such as hood 42 shown in FIGS. 7and 8 are also suitable for use with attachment system of the invention.In this embodiment shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the hood 42 is attached to thegarment 44 in a similar way to that previously shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, bymeans of first right and first left connectors 46 and 48 and secondright and left connectors 50 and 51, and will not be described infurther detail. A third embodiment, hood 52, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10,is of similar style to hood 42 except that in the former case therespective first right and first left connectors 58 and 60 (andcorresponding second right and second left connectors, not shown in thedrawings) are provided adjacent the upper portion of the wearer's torsoon each respective shoulder region 56.

It will be appreciated that the arrangement of the embodiments allowsfor easy connection and detachment of the hood and garment. Further, theuse of magnetic connectors provided stitched into pockets in the hoodand garment reduces the likelihood of damage occurring to the garmentthat may result from other known attachment methods. The magneticconnectors in the pockets are formed integral to the garment which meansthat there are no sharp edges, or rough portions which may damage thefabric of the hood or garment. The magnetic connectors are unobtrusiveand allow the hood to be placed securely on the gown with no unsightlyattachment means being visible. The magnetic connectors may remain inposition indefinitely and be reused as necessary.

The arrangement of the invention also allows for the hood to be held inplace in correct symmetrical alignment on the garment, as can easily beseen in FIG. 10 for example. The attachment system of the inventionprovides a convenient way of securing together two items of clothing, inparticular where one is intended to be positioned over the other.

It will be readily apparent to persons skilled in the relevant arts thatvarious modifications and improvements may be made to the foregoingembodiments, in addition to those already described, without departingfrom the basic inventive concepts of the present invention. Therefore,it will be appreciated that the scope of the invention is not limited tothe specific embodiments described.

1. A garment with a hood attached to the garment by an attachmentsystem, wherein the hood has a first portion to be attached adjacent anupper portion of a wearer's torso on a right side and a second portionto be attached adjacent the upper portion of the wearer's torso on aleft side, the attachment system comprising: a first right sideconnector attached to the first portion of the hood; a second right sideconnector attached to the garment adjacent in use the first right sideconnector; a first left side connector attached to the second portion ofthe hood; and a second left side connector attached to the garmentadjacent in use the first left side connector; wherein the first rightand left connectors are attachable to the second right and leftconnectors respectively by magnetism.
 2. A garment with a hood attachedto the garment according to claim 1, wherein the first and secondportions comprise elongate portions of material extending from a mainbody of the hood downwardly from adjacent the right and left shouldersof the wearer in use.
 3. A garment with a hood attached to the garmentaccording to claim 1, wherein the first right and left connectors andsecond right and left connectors are provided adjacent the upper portionof the wearer's torso below the respective shoulder.
 4. A garment with ahood attached to the garment according to claim 1, wherein the firstright and left connectors and second right and left connectors areprovided adjacent the upper portion of the wearer's torso on eachrespective shoulder region.
 5. A garment with a hood attached to thegarment according to claim 1, wherein the first right and leftconnectors are provided in a pocket stitched into the hood.
 6. A garmentwith a hood attached to the garment according to claim 1, wherein thesecond right and left connectors are provided in a pocket stitched intothe garment.
 7. A garment with a hood attached to the garment accordingto claim 1, wherein the second right and left connectors comprise astrip having one or more magnets mounted thereon and the first right andleft connectors comprise a portion of magnetic material securable to themagnets.
 8. A garment with a hood attached to the garment according toclaim 1, wherein the garment is a graduation gown.
 9. An attachmentsystem for attaching a hood to a garment, the attachment systemcomprising: wherein the hood has a first portion to be attached adjacentan upper portion of a wearer's torso on a right side and a secondportion to be attached adjacent the upper portion of the wearer's torsoon a left side, the attachment system comprising: a first right sideconnector adapted to be attached to a first portion of the hood, whichfirst portion of the hood is adapted to be adjacent a right side of anupper portion of a torso of a person wearing the garment; a second rightside connector adapted to be attached to the garment and be adjacent thefirst right side connector; a first left side connector adapted to beattached to a second portion of the hood, which second portion of thehood is adapted to be adjacent a left side of the upper portion of thetorso, wherein at least one of the first left side connector and thesecond right side connector includes a magnet which attaches bymagnetism to the other of the second right side connector and the firstleft side connector. and a second left side connector adapted to beattached to the garment and be adjacent the first left side connector,wherein at least one of the second left side connector and the firstright side connector includes a magnet which attaches by magnetism tothe other of the first right side connector and the second left sideconnector.